


Pur Cariad

by anselem



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: F/F, Jack is 32, M/M, artist jack cliche, buttons is 17, dating app, davey is 30, davey is a linguist, davey is a top fight me, davey is les's dad, highkey bottom jack, jack is buttons dad, katherine is buttons mom, les is 15, let me have fun, lowkey sub jack, platonic co-parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-09-22 12:35:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17059892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anselem/pseuds/anselem
Summary: Jack lives in Manhattan with his daughter, Buttons.Davey lives in Queens with his son, Les.They meet through a dating app and chaos ensues.(i was forced to write this by the goblin that occupies 45% of my skull.)





	1. Murals and Messages

**Author's Note:**

> heya! this idea was spawned into existence and i figured, why not? 
> 
> this has no regular update schedule nor should you expect one. chapters will appear as soon as they come to fruition.

 

“Buttons, come on, get up!”

Jack was stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for the tell tale signs of life from his daughter. He heard a frustrated groan and loud bang. He leaned against the railing and watched as her door swung open and she practically crawled out of her room.

“It is 6:30, Dad, why am I awake?” Her bright red hair was not tamed at all and her old rock band shirt was wrinkled. “I am capable of waking up and getting to school on my own, yanno.” Jack scoffed and walked away from the staircase.

“Guess, I’ll just give all these Mickey Mouse pancakes to your Mom and Sarah, seeing as you don’t want any.” He heard Buttons gasp and slid down the railing.

“Now, Dad, don’t get ahead of yourself. I’m all for some MMP from my Dad!” Jack laughed and ruffled her hair before heading to the kitchen. Buttons was close behind and threw herself into her chair. Her chair was a paint splattered, vaguely Starry Night looking mess. Buttons got both Jack and Katherine’s artistic talents which she used to their fullest extents. Her high school had her paint multiple murals for the art department and her language teachers said she did incredibly well in all aspects. Her only downside was her disparaging love of sleep and unquestioning hatred of math. (Jack didn’t like math but he wasn’t letting his daughter get off the hook too easily.)

The father and daughter pair ate breakfast and cleaned the kitchen together before Jack’s “Get Your Ass In Gear, You Have To Make The 8:00 Bus” alarm, courtesy of Racer, went off. Buttons was pulling her boots on and getting ready to head out for her bus as well. Jack kissed the top of her head and hugged her.

“I have to go to Queens again for that big mural, so I won’t be home until at least 5. The roast in the fridge is for dinner tonight which means you get to keep your little gremlin claws off it until Racer and Spot arrive. If your Mom and Sarah show up first you still can’t have any.” Buttons pushed of Jack’s chest and huffed a laugh.

“I’m a senior in highschool, Dad, your roast isn’t that tempting.” Jack snorted and shooed her towards the door, snatching her bag off the side table and tossing it too her. Buttons clicked her teeth at him and Jack clicked back, both getting more aggressive until Buttons burst out laughing.

Once the front door had closed Jack pulled his shoes on and made sure all his spray cans were in his duffle along with his mask and coat. He check his phone, pulled his cap off the hook and dashed for the bus stop. 

* * *

 

There was a little cafe in Queens called “Lost Shoe Coffee”, run by Specs, a long-term friend of Jacks. Jack frequently did work in Queens, even some for the cafe, so the whole staff knew him. He rushed in the door and slid onto a stool, tossing his bag down next to him and kicking his foot into the counter.

“Cool your beans, Kelly, I’m coming.” The voice carried from the kitchen and was followed by a short Polynesian girl with big black rimmed glasses. She was carrying a steaming pan of croissants in both hands, her glasses fogging up from the heat. Specs slid both onto the counter and wiped her hands on her apron before adjusting her glasses.

“How's business?” Jack grinned.

“Wish-wash, hows that girl of yours?” Specs nudged Romeo and barked an order to Finch.

“She's doing good, started her senior year today.” Specs gasped and whirled around from where she had been punching numbers into the espresso machine.

“Already? She was nine yesterday, swear on my life!” Specs threw up her hands in fake outcry and they both burst out laughing. Romeo slid Jacks coffee down the bar and Jack flashed him a wink. Romeo laughed and greeted the next customer in line. Jack pushed off the counter and swiped his bag off the ground.

“I have to bounce, Specs, but I’ll be back tomorrow!” Specs waved dismissively at him and Finch made a shooing gesture with his hands. Jack laughed and walked out of the cafe. He made his way to the mural sight and unpacked his shit before pulling on his gas mask and coat. Jack scaled the ladder with a small bag of reds and yellows and set to work.

By 2 o’clock his coffee was long gone and he'd managed to finish a good chunk of the mural. He'd taken his coat off around noon due to the heat, it was supposed to stop the paint from getting on his clothes but almost every article of Jack's clothing was paint splattered anyway. He monkeyed his way back down the ladder and packed everything into his original duffle. Jack slung the bag over his shoulder and set off for Medda’s. 

* * *

 

Miss Medda still ran her theatre but she lived in the nicer part of Queens. Medda had taken in Jack and his boys when no one else would and supported Jack and Kath when Buttons was born. She never failed to be there for any of the boys like a true mother.

Jack bounded up her front steps and unlocked the door, setting his bag down and hanging his hat up.

“Ma? It's Jack!” He shouted as he headed to her kitchen. Jack was ruffling through the cupboards when Medda came in.

“Jack Kelly!” Jack winced and turned around looking guilty.

“First time I see you in two weeks and you're raiding my pantry!” Jack hid the box of Ritz behind him and shut the door with his foot.

“Sorry, Ma. I was working on my new mural and I needed food.” Medda's angry facade broke and she smiled, pulling Jack into a hug.

“You're always welcome in my house, Jack.” Jack smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

“Love you, Ma.” Medda practically shoved him into a chair, snatching the box of crackers from his hands.

“Where's my favourite granddaughter?” Jack scoffed.

“Momma, she’s your only granddaughter.” Medda shushed him and slid a plate of macaroni towards him. Jack thanked her and they chatted while he ate.

Once Jack was done and the dish was clean, he hugged Medda and grabbed his things. She kissed his head and he headed out, back towards the mural sight. He slipped his mask back on and scaled the ladder again, this time with a bag of blues and purples. Jack had a tendency to get lost in his work and the next time he resurfaced it was 5:45.

“Oh fuck! Buttons is gonna kill me!” Jack narrowly avoided death as he scampered down the ladder. He shoved everything back into his duffle and took off running. He caught the 6 o’clock bus and managed to make it home by 6:30. Jack bust through the front door, throwing his bag down and not even bothering with his cap. He hurried to the kitchen and bent over, heaving.

“Heya, Pops.” Buttons had her feet on the table and their cat, Rug, in her lap. The rest of their mismatched family was seated around the table. Racer was in Spots lap, arguing with Crutchie over something. Crutchie was in Finch’s lap who was seated next to Katherine and across from Spot. Sarah was nowhere in sight but Buttons girlfriend, Elmer, was sitting on the counter.

“Buttons, feet and cat! This is a household not a farmers market! Elmer, off my counter! Racer, Crutchie- shut the fuck up!”

Buttons lowered her feet and gentle shoved the cat off her lap. Rug tumbled into a heap of black and white fur and stalked away. Elmer slid down from their perch on the counter and onto a stool. Racer and Crutchie ignored Jack in favoured of throwing spoons at each other. Spot waved at Jack with one hand while he pulled Racer closer with the other.

“Kelly! Thank God you're here! They won't fucking stop.” Spot smacked Racers hand and the boy pouted. Finch shook Crutchie and the blonde went silent. Racer and Crutchie still continued to glare at each other, the argument obviously not forgotten.

Thankfully, Sarah came out of the kitchen with a bowl of salad and everyone perked up as she brought out more food. She slid onto Kath’s lap and motioned for everyone to begin eating.

 

* * *

 

Family Dinner Night had minor hiccups but was overall a success. Crutchie threw multiple croutons at Racer until Finch intervened and pinched the back of Crutchie’s thigh. Once everyone was done eating, Jack and Buttons cleaned up while everyone moved to the living room to watch a movie. Sarah chose “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”, arguably one of the worst Nic Cage films ever made. The whole family mocked the movie and threw popcorn at each other.

Eventually everyone cleared out, the time nearing 11. Buttons and Elmer cleaned up the living room and then went to Buttons room. Jack collapsed on his bed and laid in the silence for a while before rolling over and unlocking his phone. He logged onto a dating site and began looking through the profiles.

Jack had started the account a week or so ago but never got the time to actually peruse it. He scrolled through profiles for a while when a sound startled him.

A message.

Jack clicked the inbox with mild reluctance. Thankfully, it was not another unwarranted dick pick. It was from an account called _LinguisticFiend_ , weird name choice but Jack’s wasn’t much better.

_ImAnArtMajor_

It was 8pm and Jack was tired, sue him.

 

Jack clicked on the message.

_“Hey!_

_I don't normally message people on this app but you seemed like just my type. I love the fine arts and I’m also a single dad. #singledadsolidarity, amirite?_

_Feel free to ignore this.”_

Jack clicked through to his profile and read through his bio. He was a single dad who lived in Queens with his son. He spoke 8 languages and loved fantasy novels. Jack smiled and clicked back to the messages. He began typing.

_“Hey!_

_You also seem like just my type! What's your favourite fantasy series?”_

Jack locked his phone and plugged it in before rolling over and letting the world fade to black, a little smile on his face.


	2. Russian and Rushin'.

“Les! Rise and shine, monster!”

 

Davey banged on Les’s door and headed down the hallway to the kitchen. He hung a left to the bathroom and pulled the cat off the counter.

 

“Kyle, the counter is not meant for cats!” He tossed Kyle onto the hallway carpet and the calico scampered off. Les’s door opened behind Davey and he heard a groan.

 

“I’m so not in the mood right now, Dad. It’s”, Les checked his watch, “6:30 in the morning. What’s the thinking?” Davey scoffed and headed towards the kitchen, hearing Les drag his feet behind him.

 

“I stopped by Specs cafe yesterday and got you some muffins but feel free to tell her yourself you chose to sleep instead of eating her food.” Les pulled a muffin from the plate a took a huge bite.

 

“Specs doesn’t have to know anything, Dad.” Les said through a mouthful of food. Davey cringed and practically threw the napkin at his son.   
  


“Ugh, Leslie, close your mouth, you monster.” Les laughed as he at his muffin and poured himself a glass of milk.

 

“If I listened to you you would have no valid reason to yell at me.” Les taunted.

 

“Oh isn’t that just the dream, you imp.” Davey took leave of the kitchen before Les could respond. Kyle wove in and out of his legs and Davey nudged him with his foot. 

 

“You bastard man, get on, skedaddle.” Kyle rubbed his face on Davey’s leg and then jumped onto the desk. Davey flicked on the office lights and switched his computer on. He flicked Kyle’s ear until the screen booted. He opened up his newest project, Russian translations of a congressional speech, and began typing. 

 

Les came into the office at 7:30 and told his dad he was heading out for school. Davey tossed Les his letter jacket and the teen jettisoned. Davey continued to work until 8:15 when he got up to stretch and decided to wander on down to Lost Shoe Cafe. He pulled on his shoes and his cap and headed up the block towards Specs.

 

Davey and Specs roomed together in college and Davey would never say it to her face but the girl had grown on him. The bell chimed his arrival and he was greeted with a loud.

 

“Cool your beans, Kelly, I’m coming.” Specs bustled out of the kitchen and placed two pans of croissants on the counter before entering a conversation with an animated man at the bar. He was leaning on the counter with his arms folded, a playful glint in his eyes and he conversed with Specs. Davey had never seen this “Kelly” before but it looked like he and Specs had history. He waited at the register while Romeo served the man his drink. Romeo got to the register and punched in Davey’s order with a light, “Mornin’ Dave.”, and whipped around to make it. The man, Kelly, made his excuses to Specs and all but fled the cafe. Specs turned back from where she was situated at the espresso machine and her eyes locked on Davey.

 

“Back so soon, Jacobs?” Davey cracked a smile.

 

“Of course, your pastries are just so addictive, the FDA should really regulate you.” Specs shushed him and handed him a plate with a blueberry scone on it. Romeo slid his tea over to him and he took a seat in the stool that Kelly had vacated. He poked jabs at Romeo and Finch when the ventured to his end of the bar until Finch threw a crumpled receipt at him. Davey took that his cue to leave and laughed as he walked out the cafe, banking right back towards his apartment. 

  
  
  
  


Davey worked on his translations with no breaks until he was snapped out of his trance by Les opening the front door.

 

“Dad? I’m home! I brought Sally with me.” Davey pushed himself out of his chair and fixed his hair before pressing the power button in his computer and hitting the lights in the way out. Sally was sprawled out on the sofa and Les was shrugging of his jacket. 

 

“Hey, Sal, it’s been awhile!” Sally gave a half-hearted wave from her slumped position on the couch.

 

“I was here last week, Mr. J. I had to spend the last few days with my ma in Flushing.” Davey winced at the mention Sally’s mom, the woman had never been kind to the girl and the Jacobs were all she really had next to her barely there father. She’d been Les’s best friend since 5th grade and practically lived at their house. Les shoved Sal’s legs off the couch and plopped down next to her. Davey left the two to themselves and started to cook dinner. He heard Les and Sal start bickering about meerkats and just sighed, the downside of raising intelligent kids, they never shut up.

  
  
  
  


Dinner was a quiet affair, Sally and Les rushed off to their combined room immediately afterwards. Les had jokingly split the room in half when the pair was 11 and they had kept the style. Davey was happy to buy the girl her own bed, she was basically his kid at this point. Davey made his way to his office and continued to work for a few more hours. He stopped working around 10:40 and trudged his way upstairs and into his room. He barely managed to change his clothes before borderline passing out on his bed. He laid there for a few minutes before pulling out his phone and scrolling through Twitter.

 

Eventually, Davey got bored and pulled up a dating site. He scrolled through the profiles before landing on one he liked.

 

_ ImAnArtMajor _

 

Interesting name. Davey clicked through to the guys profile.

 

His bio said he was 32, lived in Manhattan with his son and loved fine arts. This man was just up Davey’s alley. He clicked the message button and began typing.

 

_ “Hey!  _

 

_ I don't normally message people on this app but you seemed like just my type. I love the fine arts and I’m also a single dad. #singledadsolidarity, amirite?  _

 

_ Feel free to ignore this.” _

 

Davey waited a few minutes for the reply and was pleasantly surprised when one came through.

 

_ “Hey!  _

 

_ You also seem like just my type! What's your favourite fantasy series?” _

 

Davey grinned.

 

_ “I’m incredibly partial to How To Train Your Dragon and Harry Potter, what about you?” _

 

Davey wanted to stay up for the reply but dad habits die hard and his dad instincts said sleep.   
  



	3. Sisters and Snooping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wassup, what's poppin.

Jack woke up to a message.

 

_ “I’m incredibly partial to How To Train Your Dragon and Harry Potter, what about you?” _

 

This man was 30 and he liked  _ dragons _ ? Jack chuckled and clicked his phone off, tossing it on his bed and he pushed himself off it. He stripped yesterday’s outfit and put on almost identical clothes. Everyone loves a cartoon character look, right? 

 

Jack banged on Buttons until he heard her scream/groan and a pillow thud against the door. He banged on it one last time and made his way to the kitchen, sliding a little on the linoleum in the hallway. Rug was sitting on the stove, tail swishing around the knife block. Jack put his hands on his hips and made a very threatening face at the tortie.

 

“Rug! Stove! That's not for cats!” Rug looked Jack up and down before hopping into the sink and then walking all over the dish rack, like a monster. Jack lunged and snatched the cat off a stack of plates before tossing him to the ground. Rug flicked his tail and stalked off, unfazed. Jack groaned and began wiping up all the cat hair from the dish rack. 

 

Buttons came into the kitchen holding Rug like a baby a few minutes later. 

 

“You're such a good boy, Rug! Buttons just loves you!” Jack smacked Buttons in the back of the hand and flicked the cat on the nose, startling him. 

 

“That little dickhead,” Jack featured to the tortie, “climbed all over my fine china!” Buttons snorted and gently dropped the cat onto a chair. 

 

“We bought that from Wal-Mart last year, Dad.” Jack shushed her and dramatically flipped around. 

 

“Fine china, Mariah! Fine china!” Buttons shook her head and took a seat, shooing Rug off the table before her dad turned around.

 

Jack pulled pots and pans out of the cabinet and plugged in their barley working toaster. He wanted to buy a new one but the store was just so far away and he was busy. Jack put some toast in the toast and then smacked it until the coils lit up. He cranked the stove all the way up to 9 because who the fuck cooks eggs on low heat? 

 

Jack ended up burning the eggs and the toast but he just scraped the burnt off into the garbage before handing the plate to Buttons. Buttons flipped to toast around put a gross amount of butter on it. Jack made himself a bagel and filled Rugs cat bowl. He sat down across from Buttons and started to slather his bagel in cream cheese.

 

“How's the mural going, Dad?”, is what Buttons was trying to say but what came out was, “How’s fa mural foing, Dad?”, and a spew of eggs. Jack shook his hand and threw a napkin at his daughter.

 

“You are disgusting.” Buttons smiled her eggy smile and Jack shoved the table into her stomach. Buttons swallowed and shoved the table back. 

 

“I can't argue because I am.” Jack shook his head and took a bite of his bagel before answering.

 

“The mural is going really good! I'm working on the main part over the next two weeks but it should be done by then.” Buttons nodded and they changed the conversation to her art exhibit at school. 

 

Buttons did the dishes and Jack forced Rug onto the balcony for the day because the cat was being a menace. Rug pawed at the window and yowled, demanding to be let back inside. Jack scoffed and walked away, pulling out his phone to answer his mystery man’s question.

 

“ _ I like Marvel and DC.” _

 

Jack thought the message was too short but worrying never got him anywhere so he sent it. He got his reply almost instantly, a good sign.

 

_ “Favourite character? If you say an Avenger I might unmatch.” _

 

Jack snorted and quickly told his mystery man that his favourite character was Venom. Anti-Heroes were always more entertaining than law abiders. 

 

_ “I wasn't expecting Venom but solid choice. Mine is Bucky Barnes.”  _

 

Jack wrinkled his nose and recoiled. This man is really going to chose The Winter Soldier after telling Jack not to choose an Avenger, how odd.

 

_ “Hate to break it to ya, but, Bucky is technically Captain America.”  _

 

Jack slipped his phone back into his pocket and shooed Buttons out of the house towards Specs cafe.

* * *

 

 

Buttons threw her bag onto a stool and kicked the bar until Specs bust through the kitchen doors.

 

“I'm coming, Kelly! I swear to God, I’ll tell Mo-” Specs cut off her rant went she saw she was yelling at the wrong Kelly.

 

“Buttons! Well, I never! You haven't been here in ages.” Specs put her hands on her hips and Buttons threw her head back in laughter. Specs was a 5’2”, unthreatening, bundle of joy. Specs pulled a wooden spoon out of her apron and shook it at Buttons.

 

“You never come to visit! I oughta smack both you and your father, maybe even your mother too.” Her heavy Manhattan accent turned all the -er words to a sounds. Buttons lowered the spoon pointed at her and leaned over the counter to give Specs a hug. Jack watched the scene with a smirk until Specs set her sights on him. 

 

“You rushes on outta here like you had betta places to be! Didn't even give me, ya sista, a hug!” Jack rubbed the back of his neck with guilt and leaned over the counter to give the small polynesian girl a hug. Specs almost dragged him over the counter but the customer bell went off. Specs shoved Jack back over the counter and once she saw who had entered the cafe, a feral grin spread across her face.

 

“Heya, Jacobs! I got someone for ya ta meet!” Jack groaned and turned around the greet whoever Specs was trying to set him up with. 

 

Oh, wait a second. 

 

He was very attractive. Black hair, brown eyes, cupid's bow pout, play to the camera eyebrows. 

 

The man was a dream, Specs sure could pick em’.

 

Specs hopped over the counter and shoved Jack towards “Jacobs”.

 

“Kelly, meet Jacobs, Jacobs meet Kelly.”

 

Both men looked at each other and nodded and then both of them herded their children in different directions. Specs looked disappointed but shrugged it off and hopped back over the counter, yelling something to Romeo and Elmer. 

 

Buttons slugged her dad on the arm once they got outside of the cafe.

 

“Dad! He was so your type! You shoulda gone for it!” Jack shook his head and lightly shoulder his daughter. 

 

“I ain't got time for a man when I got my hands full with you! I can't just pawn you off on ya mother and Sarah, they’d die.” Buttons nodded in mock solemn and let the conversation drop. Jack would never tell his kid but he agree with her, he should have gone for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here are my links if you like 
> 
> wanna follow me or whateva
> 
> instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drugstoresatan/
> 
> tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/drugstoresatan

**Author's Note:**

> please,,
> 
> love me,,
> 
> i'll put my links down here in the future, i'm just lazy.


End file.
